


The Art of Reading

by ginnyvos



Category: Saiyuki, Saiyuki Gaiden
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-27
Updated: 2012-01-27
Packaged: 2017-10-30 05:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/328082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginnyvos/pseuds/ginnyvos





	The Art of Reading

"This letter is gee,” Tenpou said, pointing at the big G on the paper.

Goku’s face lid up. “That’s my letter! Right? Right? Konzen told me it was my letter!”

Tenpou’s smile widened and he nodded. “So it is. It’s also for Gojun and-“

“That’s mean!” Goku interrupted him, pouting.

“What is, Goku?”

“He stole my letter! ‘s my letter! Konzen said so! He can have his own letter! Like- Like- Like dr!”

“Dr?” Tenpou arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah! Like dragon! Ken-nii-chan keeps calling him that, right? So he can have dr and than he doesn’t have to steal my letter!”

Goku beamed.

Tenpou sighed and wondered how and if he should tell the child that ‘dr’ wasn’t actually a letter, and that you couldn’t own one in the first place.

 

~*~

 

“This is kay, can you write a kay for me Goku?”

The boy nodded eagerly and drew something that did indeed vaguely resemble a K.

“Good, very good. And do you know whose name starts with a kay?”

Goku beamed. “Konzen!” he squeeled.

“And do you know anyone else, Goku?”

“Ken-nii-chan!”

“Very good. Very good indeed I think that’s all for today.”

Goku beamed and jumped up. “I’m gonna tell Konzen all about kay! Do you think he knows he has a letter of his own? Do you? Do you?”

Tenpou smiled. “I’m quite sure he does, but you’re welcome to tell him anyway, Goku.”

“Yay!”

 

*  
  
“Can you explain to me why all the documents I needed to sign are filled with K’s and ink spatters?”

“No need to sound so threatening Konzen and no I do not. Maybe Goku-“

“I know it was Goku, Tenpou, and I know you’re teaching him to read and write. You are somehow responsible for this! I just know it!”

“I have no idea what you are talking about Konzen, now if you would, I have a very interesting book to finish.”

“I fucking well can’t! Can’t you teach the stupid ape math or something?”

“I do think reading and writing are more important than mathematics Konzen, after all, once he is capable of reading, he will be able to learn any number of things by reading books of his own. It might also prove a useful pastime. He’s rather enthused about it you know?”

“I’ll show him enthusiastic! Goddamn annoying shit for brains money!”

“Actually he’s proving himself quite and eager student and-“

“I don’t  _care_. Now where did the critter  _go_?”

 

*   
  
“Ten-chan! Ten-chan! I helped Konzen with his work yesterday! And then he had more time to play with me! We played chase and hide and seek all midday long! Isn’t it great?”

Tenpou was rather proud of himself for not breaking into all out laughter and resolved to leave T for a later date. Much, much later.

 

~*~

 

“And they li- li-ved, lived! And they lived hap- happy- happily ever after. The end.” Goku’s eyes shone with pride as he reverently closed the book. It was a picture book Tenpou had brought him back from Down Below. It had extra big letters and very little text, but Goku looked like he’d just conquered all of heaven and Tenpou saw no need to tell him otherwise.

“Well done Goku! That was very good!”

Goku beamed until suddenly his face turned very serious. “Ten-chan… Can I borrow the book? I’ll be really, really, really, really, really, reeeeaaaaaaally careful with it! Promise!”

“Of course Goku, make sure to practice!”

Goku beamed once more. “Now I can make Konzen sleep better!”

“Oh? How so?”

“When I couldn’t sleep last time, Ken-nii-chan told me a bed-time story! I’m gonna read a bedtime story to Konzen too!”

Tenpou predicted he would be spending a lot of time at Kenren’s over the following days.

 

~*~

 

“What… happened here?”

Kenren stared at the mess that was the office he’d just spent two days getting into order and than at the little boy sitting in the middle of it, oblivious, reading a  _book_  of all things.

Goku looked up and grinned happily. “I was looking for a book to read! I finished my old one and Ten-chan said I could take a book from here. He said it was in the second closet to the left, three shelves up but… Well… I didn’t really know what that was, so I just tried all of them but they were boring! Except for this one! This one’s great! It’s all about some boy having adventures and all that! An’ he falls in love… But he falls in love with a  _girl_! Isn’t that weird! I mean, you and Tenpou aren’t girls! You’re both boys and you fell in love too, right? Isn’t it really weird to fall in love with a girl?”

Kenren took a deep breath before turning back to the monkey. It was going to be a long, long day. He was also going to kill Tenpou when he got a hold of the man. Or tie him up and give him a good spanking. But first…

“Goku, you wanna play a game with me?”

“Nah, ‘m reading a book Ken nii-chan! And it’s all cool! Wanna hear?”

Kenren sighed. “Alright, you can read to me a little, but than we’re cleaning up this mess Goku, and there’s no getting out of that!”

“Right!” Goku smiled a great, big smile and started reading in halting tones.

 

*

When Tenpou carefully entered his office hours later, he found the two, Kenren lying against some books in a way that could  _not_  be comfortable and Goku sprawled out on top of some of his books, head resting on Kenren’s chest and a book laying open on his belly.

Smiling, Tenpou picked it up. ‘ _The adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain’_. Not quite the book he’d meant for Goku to read but… Good enough. Quietly, he went to get two blankets and a pillow.

 

~*~

 

Hakkai leaned against the doorway as he stared at the lone occupant of Sanzo’s living room.

Goku was lying on his stomach on the couch, feet swinging in the air as he seemed to be concentrating very hard on the book in front of him. A book Hakkai was quite sure was in fact his. Goku’s mouth formed soundless words as he slowly, ever so slowly, read the page in front of him. After several minutes, Goku turned the page before once more focussing on the words.

It was the first time in the four months he had known the boy that he had seen him this still. He wanted to make a sound, alert Goku to his presence, but couldn’t bring himself to break the moment. The boy looked so sweet, completely submerged in the story, emotions flittering across his face as he read. Hakkai was quite sure he knew what Goku was reading. There was only one book in Hakkai’s budding collection that the boy would enjoy this much. Gojyo had gifted him with it one day not long after he had moved in. Later, the book store owner told him that the red-head had hung around his shop for over an hour, trying to decide on exactly the right book and making the other costumers incredibly jumpy with his pacing. The memory made him feel strangely possessive of the book, but Hakkai resisted the impulse to take it back from Goku.

Where the boy was absolutely hopeless when it came to mathematics, he had unfolded himself as a bit of a prodigy where it came to reading, picking it up extremely fast. Almost like he’d had lessons before… But that was a ridiculous thought. Whomever took the time to learn a small boy to read and write, would surely not be stupid enough to disregard the value of teaching him to add and subtract as well, right? He let the thought go and focussed back on the boy on the couch only to find large golden eyes staring back at him.

“Hakkai!” Goku looked down at the book guiltily. “I- You’re back!”

Hakkai smiled. “So I am. Where are Sanzo and Gojyo, Goku? And where did you get that book?”

“Sanzo’s finishing some paperwork and Gojyo said he’d go help him!”

Hakkai sighed in resignation of the umpteenth fight he’d have to break up between the two. Apparently from the moment they met, those two had been destined to be in each other’s hair. “And the book?”

Goku’s expression turned guilty once more. “I… Well… I took it from your bookcase last time we were at your house. I didn’t mean to steal it! I just wanted to borrow it and then return it, honest! It looked like it might be fun!”

Hakkai sighed. “Next time you want to read a book Goku, please ask beforehand. Otherwise it’s fine. Return it to me when you finish.

He left Goku nodding eagerly, before the boy submerged himself in the book once more.

Hakkai smiled. It  _was_  a nice book and something Goku would enjoy. A genuine smile slipped onto his face as he thought of the nights that had been spend with him reading it to Gojyo, the man’s head somehow ending up in his lap every single time.

Yes, Tom Sawyer was a nice book indeed.

~*~


End file.
